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Importance of membrane quality in RO/DI systems

J

junk

With the group buy through Air Water Ice underway, I'm trying to determine the best RO/DI system that would meet my needs. I'm upgrading my tank from a 14g to a 150g, so my needs are increasing as well. ;D

The two systems I'm considering are the Extreme Typhoon3 and theTyphoon5.

Up till now, my understanding was that the higher the GPD, the less efficient the unit was. With that understanding the Typhoon5 would better meet my needs than the Extreme. So other than all the bells and whistles, why would the Extreme cost more than the Typhoon5? Am I missing something or maybe I just don't get it. I'd rather spend less, but if it's worth the $100 to get a better system then I'd spend it. I tried to call them, but the connection was so poor that it wasn't really a beneficial conversation.

Any help would be appreciated. Thx.
 
Hawkeye

Hawkeye

Without going into detail - the front page of their reefkeeping site says this:

The Basic Typhoon has everything you need to make RODI water.

The Typhoon III adds a DI bypass assembly, an RO only valve, a membrane fast flush valve and comes with a HM DIgital hand-held TDS Meter ($60 more value).

The Typhoon III Extreme has all features above plus a built-in pressure guage, a built-in TDS alarm, a dual in-line TDS meter, a 150 GPD membrane and a float valve ($125 additional value).

For what it's worth - I purchased the mid-level one and I find it to be great. I guess it depends on what features you want. As I understand it the membrane fast flush is a feature that can help extend the life of your RODI.
 
J

junk

ds4x4 said:
so whats the real difference or advantages? i know almost nothing about these
Click to expand...

I'd have to agree. They seem so similiar.... Looks like the basic Typhoon3 would meet my needs and I think I should get the 75GPD membrane cause it's more efficient (is that correct?).
 
V

vangvace

They are all basically the same unit, just with the different upgrades Hawkeye pointed out. I prefer a lower gpd membrane because I don't have a high water demand.

DI bypass and fast flush work together to clean the membrane of deposits without wasting DI resin.
RO only valve - cooking water imo
The pressure valve - you have a maximum pressure for the filter. Plus pressure and input water temp dictates the reject rate of the membrane.
The inline TDS meter and alarms will tell you how well the unit is filtering and let you know when to replace filters. I think a handheld meter is good enough, even if I misplaced mine.

All of them come with an auto shutoff valve. If you plumb the output to a pressurized tank, a float valve, or turn off the outputs the unit will automatically stop filtering and producing waste water.
 
J

junk

vangvace said:
They are all basically the same unit, just with the different upgrades Hawkeye pointed out. I prefer a lower gpd membrane because I don't have a high water demand.

DI bypass and fast flush work together to clean the membrane of deposits without wasting DI resin.
RO only valve - cooking water imo
The pressure valve - you have a maximum pressure for the filter. Plus pressure and input water temp dictates the reject rate of the membrane.
The inline TDS meter and alarms will tell you how well the unit is filtering and let you know when to replace filters. I think a handheld meter is good enough, even if I misplaced mine.

All of them come with an auto shutoff valve. If you plumb the output to a pressurized tank, a float valve, or turn off the outputs the unit will automatically stop filtering and producing waste water.
Click to expand...

Gotcha. Thanks. Now it makes sense.
 
Hawkeye

Hawkeye

frankly the one thing i use the most on my rodi is the handheld tds meter. it's a bit scary to see what water is really like at work, at school, at home etc.

i have no experience with the extreme or the 5 stage. Only the typhoon 3 (same one vangvace has). I have no complaints about it. It's a bit bulky but that's about all.
 
D

ds4x4

the only thing is i wish the extreme had a 75gpd capacity because i like the extra stuff it comes with and that is a good deal. i dunno what do you guys think?
 
J

junk

ds4x4 said:
the only thing is i wish the extreme had a 75gpd capacity because i like the extra stuff it comes with and that is a good deal. i dunno what do you guys think?
Click to expand...

That's what I first thought, but now I figure some of those things really won't be that usefull to me. Like do I really need a red alarm light etc? I dunno. Some of these mfgs seem like they just throw a bunch of different combinations together but don't really educate folks on the differences. Then again, I'm prob just too much of a newb to figure it out lol.
 
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